Beauty Of The Dark
by Fangoddess
Summary: The plot line is set after the sun and moon ritual in season 2. Alaric is dealing with Jenna's death and just as his loathing toward the vampire species is resurfacing, a certain blonde swoops him off his feet and makes him question his life and his beliefs. Rated M for occasional smut.


**Hey guys! Alright, yes, this is a very rare and may be weird pair and may be inappropriate too but I love inappropriate ;) Plus I wanted to write something light and fun for a change and this is my way of dealing with the fact that Alaric is not going to be on the show ever again :'( Why Caroline? Because Elena is a bit too serious and intense and also a lot of work =P I really hope you like it. The initial chapter is small but I'll write more if the pair seems to work out. Cheers! :***

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The music was blaring in the grill and people pooling. Some stupid kid- probably one of his students- was having a birthday party and had invited the entire town. The songs were too kitschy for his taste and the constant babble made him want to throw up or perhaps the liquor was acting up.

He had to get out. He wasn't sure if he could, but he had to. He managed to stand up, supporting himself against the counter but his legs felt weak and wobbly. The grill was so packed, he couldn't see the door from where he stood, blurry- eyed.

He started pushing through the charged crowd of his drunk history students feeling like a monumental failure. Oh, what had he done to himself? The whole point of coming to this hell- hole of a town was to find closure. His wife had woken up one morning and had decided that life with him wasn't enough.

His questions had led him to Damon as much as Isobel's desires had. Damon had turned her. That was his answer. Closure. Why had he stuck around then? What good ever came from sticking around? If he had learnt anything in his past, it was to never trust vampires and yet, he was enough of a moron to fall in love with someone whose life was infiltrated by vampires and now she was dead. Shocker.

Alaric finally pushed open the doors- that seemed to have grown much heavier from his previous time there- which opened up to what looked like an empty alleyway. For a minute, he wondered if he had stepped into an alternate universe. High brick walls with goofy graffiti bordered the alley on either sides. The pavement was lined with huge trash cans and the air smelled like wet garbage and something dead. Stray cats?

Only then did he realise that the doors were made of wrought iron and that he had taken the emergency exit in his drunken haze. Pathetic. Just as he was about to go back in, he heard a muffled moan from behind the trash cans.

"Who is it?" He raised his groggy voice which came out as a groan.

"Are you kidding me?" He heard a high pitched whine and somehow immediately recognised who it was. "Go away!" Came the voice again, more muffled this time.

"Caroline?" Yes, he recognised her voice even though he had more bourbon than blood in his system. Man, the girl talked a lot.

Caroline emerged from the shadows, her baby blue sundress mussed and her golden tresses lacking the bounce and glow it always held. He could see her bottom lip smeared with blood. Damn, was she feeding?

"Mr Saltzman?" Caroline consciously licked the blood in her lips, "I thought no one ever used that exit."

He felt the tension in the pungent air as Caroline tentatively approached him. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked embarrassed- like he had caught her in the middle of an illicit act. Fuck, who was she feeding on?

"Um, Mr Saltzman, you don't look good," she giggled nervously, "Do you need a ride to your apartment?"

She was a vampire and she was feeding on an innocent. May be this was exactly what he was looking for. He was a hunter. He had to slay a vampire. How long had it been since he had last slain a vampire? He could only remember partying with one. Rage fuelled his impulses as he realised what the town had made him. Weak. Confused. Lost.

That was about to change now and he was going to change it. He reached for the vervain darts he oh so dearly kept hidden in his jacket for special circumstances such as these.

It didn't matter that she was Elena's best friend nor that she was his student. Reason had left him the moment Damon had casually mentioned that morning that his girlfriend, who he had been forbidden to protect against the oldest most badass vampire of all time, was sacrificed in a crap ass ritual.

Fury shook him as the memory flooded his head. There was no need to hesitate. The girl standing in front of him was one of them- a monster- and she deserved to die. After all, Jenna had taken her place in the altar. He grabbed a dart and wrenched it out making Caroline jump.

She squeaked and retreated a few steps as Alaric stalked her clumsily. Just when he was sure he had it under control, he cast a rueful, side- way glance to see which poor idiot had ended up as Caroline's dinner. Was that a... a cat? Oh no. Oh fuck! His stomach flipped and he hurled spectacularly on to the ground.

His vision blurred as he fought the drunk, fuzzy feeling. He could see the floor coming up to meet his face but instead of the hard ground, he felt gentle hands grab his shoulders in a warm embrace before he passed out.

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**What do you guys think? Will the pair be under extreme circumstances weird? Let me know. Xoxo :***


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